Some razor heads available on the market, including disposable cartridges, have been formed in recent years with one or more dynamic elements. For example, some disposable cartridges are formed with blades or other skin-engaging elements which move in relation to the supporting structure of the cartridge in response to forces encountered during shaving. One disadvantage of systems now marketed incorporating dynamic blades and guard members is the relatively high number of pieces which must be separately manufactured and then assembled during manufacturing. It would be highly desirable to provide a shaving system capable of providing a close, comfortable shave which does not require as many separate assembly steps.
It is also now conventional in the manufacture of safety razors to provide a guard bar or guard member at a position in the razor head structure so that the guard member contacts the surface being shaved before the forward-most blade. The distance between the skin-engaging surface of the guard member and the adjacent blade affects the angle at which the blade edge contacts the skin. Though it has been suggested to use various materials in the formation of such guard members, the guard member is only one portion of the skin-engaging structure of a typical razor head. Previously disclosed systems have not attempted to achieve better skin flow control over the sharpened edges of the blades by modifying materials used in other portions of the cartridge support structure.
Furthermore, previously disclosed dynamic shaving systems typically utilize relatively rigid materials, such as polypropylene or metal at the locations where a movable, skin-engaging element contacts the supporting structure of the razor head. It is believed that the use of rigid materials for these portions of the razor head increases the likelihood of vibrations, commonly referred to as "chattering" with respect to blades. "Blade chatter" refers to undesirable vibratory-like movements of the blade as the blade is drawn across a skin surface. Such vibratory movements are undesirable since vibrations of the blade detract from the smooth, even cutting of hair. It would therefore be desirable to provide a razor head designed to dampen the likelihood of such vibratory-like movements of a blade.